Bingo

Yesterday I spent some time on the phone again.  I am reaching out to each of our local cities regarding the transportation issues I've been made aware of in our county.  In each call I was asking for someone from that city to serve as point person as I disseminate a flier to nonprofits in our area, and they pass them along to their clients in an effort to raise this conversation to the next level.  The city person just needs to be aware of what services their city has, whether that be something they offer, a nonprofit offers or a business, such as a taxi or ride share service provides.  They also will have the opportunity to engage the public to learn first hand about their needs, and if the opportunity becomes available to share that with their city councils, they will have first-hand accounts as fodder to fuel the dialogue forward.

In my conversations with so many of the nonprofits here in our county the constant thread is transportation.  In order to get to the next level or capitalize on service opportunities they need a way to move their clients in order to take advantage of the opportunities that are available to help them break cycles of crisis.

Some have given up on the transportation issue entirely, stating that they don't want to come back to the dialogue table until people are talking about more than roads or building plans.  Maybe I'm naive, but in order for the conversation to be brought up, doesn't there have to be someone who's invested their time, gained credibility, and been the one willing to reintroduce the conversation?  How can we have expectations that this issue will speak for itself?

Others have become creative, as some nonprofits are considering campus hubs, which contain satellite offices of providers who show the greatest opportunity of helping assist their clients in getting to that next level.  Its a strategic venture, and one I am very interested in.  It provides a solution for some client's needs, but there is still the need for single vehicle families- when kids need to go to the doctor.  Or what about the single parent family who can't afford a vehicle, and the parent needs to get the kids to care and to a job to etablish independence?  What of the senior adult who no longer feels comfortable to drive?  Are we saying by lack of action that our communities have no place for these individuals to thrive?

I believe in collaboration.  I believe when you bring people to the table the end result will be a much more developed and potentially successful plan.

I've made an effort to reach out to each city's transportation person, and I've been listening to their stories.  In yesterday's calls I even had some of them asking me what the others are doing.  They are interested in a regional approach to think creatively and strategically about how we best meet this need.  And this certainly doesn't and shouldn't fall solely to a city's responsibility.  Its a community responsibility.  Its where the corporate, private and government sectors can all come together to create a multifaceted response to a complex need.

After yesterday's calls I got an email requesting a meeting specifically with one of of the larger cities in our county.  They are "looking to host a round table discussion with service agencies in the area.  The purpose is to get people to think outside of the box in coming up with ways to get more public transportation". 

BINGO

I'm thrilled.  It's dialogue at the next level.  I'm hoping dialogues like this one begin in each city, and then cross-city and county-wide.

I'm not exactly sure when it was, but some years ago I decided that I wanted the opportunities that I invest my time and energy into to be accelerators or catalysts that would do the most good.  I don't particularly have a love for transportation.  I certainly never intended to serve as a community moderator for this issue.  Sometimes, you just have to see the need, meet the need.  The existence of need in itself is an invitation or call to action.  Being a mom now, only encourages me all the more to set a precedence for my son of what I feel it is to love God and love others in action.  All I hope to do is lead by example, and hopefully my family, my friends, my neighborhood, my community is better for it.